Police investigate a scene where a car rammed a truck and damaged a restaurant in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2014. Edmonton City Police Chief Rod Knecht spoke Tuesday about multiple homicides that took place at different scenes over night in Edmonton, Alberta. AP
A man shot and killed eight people in western Canada, including two children, before committing suicide Tuesday, police said.
Police in Edmonton, Alberta, said the case of “senseless mass murder” unfolded in three different locations.
Chief Rod Knecht told a news conference the killings were the result of domestic violence.
Seven of those killed — three women, two men and the two children — were found in the same house, Knecht said. The eighth victim was a woman.
None of the victims was identified, but Knecht said the public was not in danger.
“It’s a tragic day for Edmonton… with this multiple murder of eight people,” Knecht said.
The events began late Monday in the southern part of the city where a man was found to have “discharged his weapon” on a female victim and fled the scene, Knecht explained.
The suspected killer, whose relatives said was suicidal, then headed to a residence in the north of the city, where he killed another seven people.
After a first unsuccessful patrol, police returned to that house.
After forcing the door open, they discovered the bodies of the seven victims.
Working off of evidence and testimony, detective quickly identified the suspected killer, who was not identified publicly.
He was found early Tuesday in a restaurant in Fort Saskatchewan, a northeastern suburb of Edmonton, after committing suicide.
“This series of events are not believed to be random acts,” he said. “These events do not appear to be gang-related, but rather tragic incidents of domestic violence.”
“Our homicide investigators have established associations and linkages between these homicides,” he said.
Police would not elaborate on the connection between the deaths.